BAA Global Conference Under the Eiffel Tower
In the beginning it was the Unthinkables, then came the Global Conference. Originally the Milanese format of the Bocconi Alumni Association (BAA) combined continuous learning, community-building, and professional networking. Then, in 2013 a new global conference was added to the mix, in order to move where alumni were and involve the entire Bocconi community around the world. The idea was to have a travelling conference that could touch each year one of the three world regions where Bocconians are professionally active: one year in Asia, the year after in America, and the next in Europe, and then the sequence starts over again, beginning with Asia. This year is Europe's turn. The 2018 conference will be held under the Eiffel Tower, since Paris was chosen to host the 5th BAA Global Conference, to be held on June 8 and 9. Bocconi alumni will congregate to discuss the five major trends that are transforming business and society today.
Francesca Bellettini (CEO, Yves Saint Laurent), Maurizio Borletti (Chairman, Grandi Stazioni), Sylvie Goulard (Deputy Governor, Banque de France), Andrea Munari (CEO and General Manager, BNL-BNP Paribas), Diego Piacentini (Commissioner for the Implementation of Italy's Digital Agenda) and Davide Serra (CEO and CIO, Algebris) will be among the distinguished speakers who will discuss artificial intelligence, finance, demographics, innovation, sustainability, with Bocconi faculty and conference participants.
The global conference formula was born "because we harbored international aspirations; we decided to supersede reunion conventions in Milan, by creating an event which could bring the University to the various Bocconi communities," says the Dean for Fundraising and Alumni Engagement, Bruno Busacca. "We wanted to give a sign of Bocconi's proximity to the various BAA chapters around the world." So, starting with the first edition in Singapore, which was followed by editions in New York, London, and Shanghai, "the global conference has strengthened the alumni's sense of belonging to the same Bocconi community, active in all continents."
Since it was first held five years ago, the Global Conference has managed to deepen its educational and relational value: for alumni, it is an opportunity for learning and debate; for Bocconi, it is a way to show its own community the investments made to advance research and improve faculty. The latter topic is particularly dear to Busacca: "The faculty will be increasingly involved in engagement activities with alumni abroad. We are working to ensure that our faculty members who are very mobile internationally communicate their movements in advance, so that we can put them in touch with local BAA chapters".
Bocconi's internationalization drive is also built around the idea of achieving greater representation in alumni boards for Bocconians' various nationalities. "This way", Busacca concludes, "our community is bound to become more globally inclusive and internationally active."